Articles List

Salumeria: the Italian term that refers to that vast, mouthwatering array of air-cured,
preserved, and, in some cases, cooked meat.

The pleasure of eating tomatoes from your own garden all year-round requires the delightfully messy and fun operation called passata, canning cooked pureed tomatoes.

Figs: sweet and exotic. For a really special summer dinner, here are some suggestions for how you can make an entire meal from start to finish with figs...

If you’re looking for something a little different when planning your next cookout, you might want to try it Italian-style.

During the warmest months of the year, its time for fresh, leafy greens and raw salads - what Italians call “verdure” or greens.

Learn how to deal with these prickly thistle flowers and have absolutely no fear of them.

The jubilation of Easter is nowhere more apparent than at a Pasqua (Easter) lunch in Italy...freshest vegetables of the season, young cheeses, and delicious roasted meats.

Savoring a fresh, roasted lamb with a glass of local red wine in the open air, under a flowering arbor is one of the miracles of springtime in Italy

Sweet breads, savory pies, and fresh sweet cheese pastries abound in Italy's bakeries this time of year -- just in time for the Easter holidays.

Layers of noodles, flat or curly, seperated by layers of exquisitely prepared sauces, meat, fish, or vegetables - all building up into one glorious baked edifice.

A new trend in Italy called Spesa a
kilometro zero, which literally means “shopping at zero kilometers.”  In the United States, it’s called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

The Emilia-Romagna region of Italy is considered by many to be the heart of Northern Italian food, from prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano, to an enormous array of freshly made pasta. Since 187 B.C., when Romans built the 125-Mile Roman Road/Via Emilia this thoroughfare has taken travelers throughout the region and connected it with the cosmopolitan cities of Venice, Genoa and central/northern Europe. 

The Alpine region of Piedmont is cupped by the countries of France and Switzerland, which both play a hand in the culinary traditions of Piedmont. It shares its Italian borders with Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Valle d'Aosta. Piedmont houses eight provinces - Vercelli, Verbano-Cussio-Ossola, Novara, Biella, Cuneo, Asti, Alessandria, and Torino, in which the regional capital city of Torino sits.

In the Italian region of Marche, time seems to stand still. Still a largely isolated region, Marche is a wealth of architecture and recipes dating back to Medieval times and beyond. Despite the challenging terrain, the area has been fought over for centuries by invading countries and warring Italian noble families, all seeking to control its central coastline between the Adriatic Sea and the Appenine mountains.

The only landlocked region in Italy, Umbria is located almost dead center of the country. There are no metropolitan cities in the region, but the lack of industry is made up for ten-fold by the natural beauty of the countryside and the preservation of early architecture, buildings dating from the Medieval period dotting the landscape throughout the area.

The island region of Sicily is one of Italy's most recognizable names. It's impossible to turn on a television without finding a movie or a show that makes reference – though sometimes skewed and occasionally disturbing – to the closeness and familial nature of Sicilian culture.

The coastal region of Liguria forms a long narrow crescent along the Ligurian Sea towards the northern part of Italy. Four provinces – Imperia, Savona, Genoa and La Spezia – are arranged in a linear fashion along the crescent, each with similar lengths of coastline. A wide swath of mountains protects the area from severe weather, lending to the region’s year-round mild temperatures and plenty of rainfall.

The second-smallest region in Italy, Molise was until the early 1960s considered part of the region of Abruzzo. Bordered on the east by the Adriatic Sea, Molise shares the rest of its newly defined borders with the regions of Campania, Lazio, Puglia and Abruzzo. The terrain of Molise rolls gently from seascape to plains then sharply upward into its hilly inland, offering a rich variation of landscapes and food production conditions in a relatively small area.

Home to Monte Vulture, a magnificent dormant volcano, the region of Basilicata (long known as Lucania) lies at the southeastern "instep" of Italy's boot-like southern base. Though the terrain is largely mountainous and forested, Basilicata is home to two brief coastlines on the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Toranto. The pastures in the area have benefited from proximity to the volcano, the fertile richness of volcanic soil legendary for making crops thrive.

Located in northwestern Italy, and home to a staggering one-sixth of the total population of Italy, the region of Lombardy is truly a study in contrasts on many levels.

Located in the southern part of Italy, Campania sits at the front of the "boot" and boasts an excellent stretch of coastline along the Tyrrhenian Sea. It governs the isle of Capri, as well as five provinces – Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples and Salerno. The skyline of the capital city of Naples is filled with the sight of the infamous Mount Vesuvius, still very much an active volcano.

Olive oil can come in many varieties. We tell you which one to select for your recipe or taste.

A close look at the sauces that shape Italian cuisine.

Once only enjoyed by royalty, balsamic vinegar has become mainstream. Take it's journey for king's court to home cupboard.

Garlic, when fresh is assertive and savory, yet when roasted a mellow sweetness is unlocked. We show you how to achieve this culinary metamorphsis.

The San Marzano variety is so prized that it has been granted DOP status, but what makes this tomato so special to garner such attention?

The open markets in towns and cities across Italy are a culinary journey like no other brimming with fresh ingredients from fava beans to funghi porcini. See what is was like to visit them from a first hand expierence.

The love that Italians have for tomatoes is only overshadowed by the countless ways that they are prepared.

A culinary treasure, balsamic vinegar's production is as complex and elaborate as it's flavor.

It began with a simple slice of bread rubbed with olive oil and transformed into countless recipes and worldwide popularity. What makes bruschetta so special?

Just the smell of soup can alter your mood to happiness immediately. That may be why the Italian word for soup, "Zuppa" rolls off your tongue so easily.

If you're going to cook with olives then you need to remove the pits... it's super simple to do.

From dough to drying, we walk you through the steps and techniques to make the perfect homemade pasta.

The "little shoe" that scoops up every last delicious bite.

Not all pasta is created equal, and finding the best is as easy as taking a closer look at the store shelf. 

Selecting the perfect cut of pasta for your pasta sauce, or vice versa is like uniting the two in marriage. Here are some tips to making the perfect union of the two.

Sacred to Zeus in ancient Greek mythology, the laurel tree (also known as the bay laurel or

No other Italian food is can be more confusing to purchase than Balsamic and wine vinegars we tell you what to look for so you know you are buying authentic product.

When the fragrance of basil fills the air in Genoa it is time to enjoy one of Italy's most prized sauces.

The famed meat sauce from Italy's gastronomy capital.

Cooking pasta is as easy as boiling water, but perfecting it is all in the details.

Almost exclusively reserved to the restaurants of Venice, "Cicchetti" is a collection of bite-sized recipes of all types of food that bring together it's citizens.